Sweet Pepper Jam Recipe – An Easy & Delicious Way To Preserve Peppers

Sweet Pepper Jam is a great recipe to make towards the end of garden season when the bell peppers have finally changed their color from green to red, orange or yellow. The sweet bell peppers are diced and mixed in with a green and a jalapeno pepper and then bathed in a sweet syrup.

The result is a sweet jam with just a small hint of heat that is perfect to serve as a condiment or as part of an appetizer. Best of all, the jam can be processed in a water bath canner for long term storage.

So that means not only do I get to enjoy the canned sweet jam throughout the year, but I also get to share it with others around the holidays.

First I will serve it on top of cream cheese for an easy and delicious appetizer at parties. Then I will also gift some of the jars as part of my homemade Christmas presents.

I add it to our Homemade Gift Crates that we build throughout the summer and add it to the decorated crates along with some homemade Apple Butter, Artisan bread, salsa and more.

And when I get to see the smiling faces of my family and friends who know the time and effort that it takes to make a homemade gift, it makes my heart fill with joy.

What To Eat With Sweet Pepper Jam

There are several different ways that you can eat this delicious, and might I say addicting jam. I have listed a few of many favorite ways to enjoy this treat, but I am sure you will also come up with many more ideas when you have this in your own pantry.

1. Appetizer Ideas

As mentioned above, one of the easiest ways to enjoy this jam is to pour it on top of a bar of softened cream cheese. Serve it with crackers and you have an appetizer that your friends and family will love!

Not to mention that the presentation is beautiful with the red and green peppers shining through the jam as it flows over top of a white block of cream cheese. The colors alone make for a fantastic Christmas party appetizer.

However, you can also serve it as a spread on your next Charcuterie board. Pour a little in a bowl and your guests can spread it on crackers, baguettes, biscuits, breadsticks and more!

You could also fill biscuit dough with the sweet pepper jam and make Air Fryer Sweet Pepper Jam Bombs. Just replace the filling in this Breakfast Bombs recipe with the jam and your guests will get an unexpected treat.

Finally, have you ever made Grape Jelly Cocktail Meatballs? Instead of using chili sauce, substitute this jam instead. It is one of the easiest appetizers to make that it is almost guaranteed that will disappear in seconds from the serving table!

2. Marinade or Glaze

One of my favorite ways to use sweet pepper jam is to marinade and glaze chicken and pork. Simply spread the jam over the meat and let it sit for at least an hour and up to 8 hours.

The vinegar in the jam will make the meat more tender and the sweet flavor will penetrate inside the meat itself. Then bake or grill the meat as you normally would.

During the cooking process, brush more jam onto the top and you will have a tasty glaze that gives bland chicken and pork a new life.

3. Wing Sauce

By far this is my favorite chicken wing sauce. As much as I love Air Fryer Buffalo Wings, this sauce gives the wings a different flavor that has become a family favorite.

The sweet heat of the jam allows all members of the family to enjoy the taste without it being too hot. Just toss the wings in the sauce after they cook or serve it on the side with plain, cooked wings.

4. Flavor Rice

If you want to add flavor to your white or brown rice, add a couple of teaspoons of this sweet pepper jam to your bowl. Mix it in and your rice will take on a delicious taste.

It is a great way to flavor rice that is served with chicken, pork or salmon.

5. Condiment

Skip the ketchup, honey mustard sauce, or tartar sauce and use this jam instead as a condiment to your burgers, chicken or fish sandwiches.

It also makes for a great dipping sauce when eating chicken tenders, chicken nuggets and fish sticks.

Now that you know how versatile this jam is, lets get to instructions on how to make it.

Easy Sweet Pepper Jam Recipe

*Complete recipe instructions including specific measurements, cook temperatures and times are located in a printable recipe card at the bottom of this article. However, be sure to keep reading for helpful tips and tricks when making this recipe.

Yield – approximately 6 half pint jars

INGREDIENTS

• 3 cups finely chopped red bell pepper
• 1 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
• 1/4 cup finely chopped jalapeño pepper
• 1 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 (1.75 ounce) package SURE-JELL powder pectin
• 5 cups white sugar

INSTRUCTIONS

Chopping the Peppers

The absolute easiest and most productive way to process the red, green and jalapeno peppers is to use a food processor.

You want the peppers to be finely diced. Of course, you can do this by hand, but it will take you what will seem like forever.

I use our Hamilton Beach Duo Food Processor and I literally have all the peppers cut up in less than 5 minutes!

Boiling The Mixture

The key to this sweet pepper jam recipe is to let the mixture come to a boil not once, but twice.

Once the peppers have been added to a large pot, add the vinegar and pectin. Heat the mixture until it comes to a boil.

Then add the sugar, stirring as you pour it in the pot. Once the mixture begins to boil for the second time set a timer and boil for exactly 1 minute!

This will allow the mixture to set up to the appropriate consistency.

Water Bath Canning

All that is left to do is to pour the mixture into hot, sterilized jars and get them ready to be processed in a Water Bath Canner.

Once the mixture has completed the second boil for one minute, immediately ladle the sweet pepper jam into the hot jars.

Wipe the rims clean and add the lid. Secure the band and using a jar lifter, place the filled jars back into the water bath canner.

Being sure that the water is 1-2 inches above the top of the jars, bring the canner to a boil.

Once the water is at a rolling boil, start a timer for 5 minutes. Then carefully remove the jars (using the jar lifter) and place on a thick towel.

Let the sweet pepper jam cool completely for 24 hours. Before storing, be sure to check the top of the lids for a proper seal.

In order to do this press down on the lid. If there is movement, the jar did not seal. Place the unsealed jar in the refrigerator.

For those jars that sealed properly, store in a cool dark place for up to 1 year.

Enjoy!

Mary and Jim

Jim and Mary Competti have been writing gardening, DIY and recipe articles and books for over 15 years from their 46 acre Ohio farm. The two are frequent speakers on all things gardening and love to travel in their spare time.

As always, feel free to email us at thefarm@owgarden.com with comments, questions, or to simply say hello! You can sign up for our free email list in the subscribe now box in the middle of this article. Follow us on Facebook here : OWG Facebook. This article may contain affiliate links.